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Contents Debussy: Préludes – Book 2, No, 5. Bruyères Rani, H: La damoiselle élue /Víkingur Ólafsson (piano), Hania Rani (piano) Debussy: Préludes – Book 2, No. 10. Canope Helgi Jonsson: Footsteps /Víkingur Ólafsson (piano), Helgi Jonsson (synthesizer) Badzura: Muse d’eau Hugar: L’entretien des muses /Hugar, Víkingur Ólafsson (piano), Bergur Þórisson (percussion), Bergur Þórisson (piano), Bergur Þórisson (synthesizer programming), Bergur Þórisson (bass), Pétur Jónsson (percussion), Pétur Jónsson (piano), Pétur Jónsson (synthesizer programming), Pétur Jónsson (guitar) Badzura: K.A.H.D. Víkingur Ólafsson: Reflection Debussy: Pour le piano – 1. Prélude, 2. Sarabande & 3. Toccata Clark: Drowned Haiku Debussy: Préludes – Book 2, No. 10. Canope Balmorhea: La Cupis /Víkingur Ólafsson (piano), Rob Lowe (piano), Rob Lowe (guitar), Michael A. Muller (guitar) Badzura: K.A.H.D. Debussy: Préludes – Book 2, No. 5. Bruyères Just days after Debussy – Rameau, Víkingur Ólafsson’s latest album, was released by Deutsche Grammophon earlier this year, it topped the classical charts in the US and UK and found itself in the top 10 of the German pop charts. Now the Icelandic pianist announces Debussy – Rameau Reflections, a contemporary reflection of the music of these two composers. It features reworks by Ólafsson and other contemporary artists – including Polish pianist, composer and singer Hania Rani. On the album, Ólafsson contrasts the arrangements with his previously unreleased Debussy recordings. The Reflections project kicks off on 25 September 2020 with the world premiere of Hania Rani’s new arrangement of the Prélude to Debussy’s La Damoiselle élue, in which the composer’s music appears in a meditative electroacoustic soundscape. This single will be followed by four EPs in November, January, February and March, with the album coming out on CD and LP on March 12, 2021. Reflections also features arrangements by Icelandic singer-songwriter Helgi Jónsson, Icelandic duo Hugar, Texas-based minimalist post-rock ensemble Balmorhea, and Christian Badzura, vice president A&R New Repertoire at Deutsche Grammophon. Also included are Debussy’s Pour le piano and pieces from his Préludes. Two of them – “Bruyères” and “Canope” – were recorded on both a pianino and a grand piano, offering the listener very different listening experiences. “I wanted to look at certain works from new angles, reshape them and invite other composers to rework elements of these great pieces,” Ólafsson says. “Deutsche Grammophon immediately supported me and so we can have a creative conversation with Debussy, Rameau and some of the most imaginative musicians of our time.” Víkingur Ólafsson’s Debussy – Rameau (2020) has already racked up over 22 million streams, meaning that the total number of streams of his recordings has now exceeded 127 million. But not only is the album a huge hit with audiences, critics are also celebrating the artist. The Daily Telegraph declared him “the new superstar of classical piano”, The Sunday Times named the recording “Album of the Week”, it was Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and BBC Music Magazine’s “Recording of the Month”, it received a Diapason d’or and the OPUS KLASSIK 2020 in the category “Solo Recording of the Year (Piano)”. With his remarkable originality and outstanding skill, Víkingur Ólafsson has conquered the music world within a few years and has become one of the most sought-after artists of our time. The international success of Debussy – Rameau follows that of his award-winning album Johann Sebastian Bach and its sister release Bach Reworks, featuring arrangements by composers as diverse as Peter Gregson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Skúli Sverrisson. The work inspired Debussy – Rameau Reflections. Now Ólafsson and his fellow musicians enter into a dialogue with two greats of French music and translate their musical language into an idiom of our time. |
